Parameters

With Parameter, you can bind a particular key (identifier) with a value. It allows you to add custom key-value pairs for your workflows, thereby eliminating the need to enter a particular value over and over again. So, for instance, if you define a Parameter with ‘Email’ as its key, and ‘someone@example.com’ as its value, you do not have to type the whole email ID in the input field. You can simply insert it as an input by clicking on name of the parameter as shown in the following image:

There are two types of parameters in Built.io Flow:

1. Workflow Parameters

These parameters are confined to the actions associated with that workflow. For example, if you have defined an email parameter as a ‘Workflow Parameter’, you can use this parameter for all the actions present in that workflow. You cannot use this parameter for other workflows of the project.

2. Project Parameters

These parameters can be used for the actions of all the workflows of the project.  For example, if you have defined an email parameter as a ‘Project Parameter’, you can use this parameter for all the workflows that are part of the project. You cannot use this parameter for the workflows of other projects.
Whenever you add a parameter, you will notice a vertical ellipses icon (or three tiny dots) beside it. When you click on it, you will see the following options: 

Adding Parameters

a) Adding workflow parameters via Workflow Settings

You can add workflow parameters by clicking the ‘Workflow Settings’ icon located at the top right-hand side corner of your canvas. The ‘Workflow Settings’ window will appear on your screen. Select the ‘Parameters’ option from the list of options displayed on the left-hand side panel, to add a parameter for your workflow. You will get two options at the top of the ‘Workflow Settings’ window under which you want to define a parameter, i.e., ‘Workflow Parameters’ and ‘Project Parameters’, as shown in the following image:

By default, you will see the ‘Workflow Parameters’ window selected. Click the ‘+’ icon to add a new parameter to your workflow. Enter the key and value of the parameter. Whenever you add a parameter, you will notice a vertical ellipsis icon (or three tiny dots) beside it. When you click on it, you will see the following options:

1. Mark as Mandatory: This option lets you mark the specified parameter as mandatory. For such parameters, Built.io Flow, on executing a workflow, will check if the value of the parameter is available. If the value is not available, the workflow execution will not be completed successfully. Hence, if you mark any parameter as mandatory, it must have a value.

2. Set as Password Field: This option lets you mark the specified parameter as a password field, thereby hiding the value of the parameter.

3. Delete: This option lets you delete the parameters of your workflow and the project.

b) Adding project parameters via Workflow Settings

Open the ‘Workflow Settings’ window, go to ‘Parameters’ and click on the ‘Project Parameters’ tab as shown in the following figure:

Click the ‘+’ icon to add a new parameter to your project. Enter the key and value of the parameter. Using the vertical ellipsis icon (three tiny dots), you can mark the parameter as mandatory and can set its type as a password or text field. Click on the ‘SAVE’ button once you have defined the parameters for your project.

c) Adding  project parameters via ‘Configuration’ window

When you log in to your Built.io Flow account, you can see the project folders with workflows in it that you have created. Select the project folder for which you want to define the project parameter. Upon clicking on the ‘CONFIGURATION’ tab available at the top, a new window will pop up in which you can set the parameters, authorizations, and triggers as shown in the following figure:

By default, the ‘PARAMETERS’ option is selected. Click the ‘+’ icon to add a new parameter to your project. Enter the key and value of the parameter. Using the vertical ellipsis icon (three tiny dots), you can mark the parameter as mandatory and can set its type as a password or text field. Click on the ‘SAVE’ button once you have finished defining the parameters for your project. In this window, you can also see project parameters that you have defined via ‘Workflow Settings’.

Using Parameters

Once you have defined the parameters for the workflow/project, open the action of the workflow in which you want to use the parameters. On the right-hand side panel, you can see two options i.e., 'Workflow Parameters' and 'Project Parameters'. Click the dropdown arrow icons located besides the parameters options, as shown in the following figure, to get a list of parameters that you have defined.

Deleting Parameters

Workflow parameters can be deleted from ‘Workflow Settings’ and project parameters can be deleted from the ‘CONFIGURATION’ window.

To delete workflow parameters, go to ‘Workflow Settings > Parameters’ and click on vertical ellipsis icon (or three vertical dots) given against the parameter you want to delete. You will see a 'Delete' option. Click on it to delete the corresponding parameter.